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Have you had the need to change an airplane ticket, call relatives, or report a lost credit card from the U.S. while traveling in Mexico? Dialing to and from Mexico can be a little confusing to folks that are regular world callers.

Sometimes, our whale watching and sport fishing clients, as well as foreigners living in Mexico, get puzzled and frustrated when trying to manage phone calls between cell phones and land lines. Add to that equation a different area code or nation code and you may find yourself frantically dialing one combination after another, only to be denied. Rest assured, it’s not just you. The variations can be confusing, even for locals.

This is why we will like to offer this simple guide that you can cut and stick on the fridge or in your wallet. It will save you from that dark place where you find yourself muttering obscenities at the message in Spanish from the phone that lets you know that you are dialing something wrong for the tenth time.

From your Mexican land phone:

- To dial to a Mexican local number (same area code):Dial 7 digits (no area code necessary)- To dial to a Mexican long distance number:Dial 01 + area code (3 digits) + phone number (7 digits). - To dial to a Mexican cell phone number:Dial 044 + area code (3 digits) + phone number (7 digits) (when in same area code)Dial 045 if the cell phone is a different area code than where you are (LD cell phone)- To dial to a U.S. phone number:Dial 00 + 1 + area code (3 digits) + phone number (7 digits)- To dial to a 1-800 U.S. number: (international rates apply)Dial 00 + 1 + 880 + phone number (usually 7 digits) - To dial to a 1-888 U.S. number:Dial 00 + 1 + 881 + phone number (usually 7 digits)- To dial to a 1-877 U.S. number:Dial 00 + 1 + 882 + phone number (usually 7 digits)- To dial to a 1-866 U.S. number:Dial 00 + 1 + 883 + phone number (usually 7 digits)- To dial to a Mexican 01-800 number:Dial 01 + 800 + phone number (usually 7 digits)- To dial to other countries:Dial 00 + country code (1, 2 or 3 digits) + phone number (usually 7 digits)- To a US cell phone while is in Mexico (some companies have that as default):Dial 00 + 1 + area code (3 digits) + phone number (7 digits)

Also, to call from a Mexican cell phone while in the US to a Mexican cell phone in Mexico (believe me, it happens):Dial 011 + 52 + 1 + area code (3 digits) + phone number (7 digits)

From your US cell phone:

You can make calls from your U.S. cell phone to Mexican numbers while you are in Mexico. The most confusing thing about this is that some US companies have arrangements with local Mexican carriers (TELCEL or MOVISTAR for example). In this case, the Mexican carrier takes over and your cell phone becomes “Mexican,” so you will use the “from Mexico” option below. Other carriers have no arrangement with any Mexican company, so you’ll use the “from the U.S.” option below. Unless you have an international plan, it is not cheap to use your U.S. cell phone in Mexico, but some times it is necessary. Contact your cell phone company before leaving the U.S, or try to dial the following ways: